Anything You Can Do, We Can Do Better.

If House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese ...... is walking around with claw marks on his face this morning, there's a decent chance they might have come from yesterday's
catty display by House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, who couldn't help but observe that, when the Republicans were in charge, more stuff would have happened by now.House Democrats, Smith noted, as he looked up from a conveniently placed saucer of milk, "were surprised to" win their 102-101 majority and "psychologically and staff-wise" he didn't think they were ready to take over, the online news service, Capitolwire, reports this morning."Right now, I think they are still figuring out what they want to do," he said, adding that when the Republicans were in control, it had passed "about 30 bills by now."In a briefing with reporters in the Capitol pressroom yesterday, Smith also pronounced Gov. Ed's $760 million tax on oil company profits dead-on-arrival in the lower chamber, and said he thought it was naive of the administration to assume the added tax levy wouldn't be passed along to consumers at the gas pump.The rest of today's news, now with extra cattiness, starts after the jump.

This Should Go Over Big.The state Senate voted 49-1 yesterday to approve a bill that breaks the tie between state judicial pay and the salaries paid their federal
counterparts. Right now, judges earn a percentage of what their colleagues earn on the federal bench.Under the bill the Senate approved Wednesday, jurists would "receive a salary that is equal to the salary payable to persons holding that particular judicial office on the day prior [to the bill becoming law] plus $1 and any applicable cost of living adjustments."The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, also makes it clear that state judge pay isn't linked in any way to the feds. The $1 hike was also thrown in -- not as an insult, as we'd cleverly assumed -- but to help the bill withstand any court challenge, Piccola said in a press release.“This
would assure the new salary system would not violate the constitutional
ban on diminishment of judicial pay, which was the argument the court
cited to reinstate the pay raise for Pennsylvania’s judges,” Piccola
said.
Still, here's a thought: If you're a state senator, and you voted in favor of this thing, try to stay out of state court if you can. Judges, we've found, can be a remarkably humorless bunch.

Something About Insurance.The state House has signed off on legislation that gives the state Insurance Department and an appointed review board the power to approve reject mergers among non-profit insurance companies.The bill, sponsored by Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, gives the Insurance Department oversight of proposed mergers between .... aSFDiofado9pweqrHJK;FDAahf; .... Oh God, sorry. We fell asleep while writing this.Suffice to say, it has something to do with Highmark and Independence Blue Cross.If you're that desperate to find out, read it yourself.

Proof That We're Living In The Wrong State:While the PA Liquor Control Board and the Beer Distributors duke it out in state court over
whether a Sheetz convenience store in Altoona should be allowed to sell take-away beer, visionary state legislators in Wisconsin have passed legislation allowing grocery stores to give beer awayFOR FREE.Yes, children, you read that correctly. Lawmakers in the nation's home of beer have approved a bill authorizing grocery stores and liquor stores to hand out beer samples of up to 6 ounces to a person of legal drinking age, the Associated Press reports."It's a good bill. It's a Wisconsin bill. It's a beer bill," Rep. Scott Newcomer, a Republican, one of the measure's main sponsors (and our new hero) said.Current state law in Wisconsin already allows wineries to offer up to 6 ounces in free samples.Can anyone say road trip?

Capitol Ideas' Cynical Triangulation Award (Part I):Today's first honor goes to freshman state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, who, because he's new,
doesn't know any better. Thus we're treating him slightly more kindly than we would otherwiseBarely 48 hours after the Virginia Tech shootings, Conklin called on his colleagues to pass a resolution requiring colleges and universities across the state to have security alert systems that would use "all current technology" to inform students of potential threats."The shooting at Virginia Tech on Monday was simply
horrific and is a moment in American history that will forever be imprinted on
our hearts and minds,” Conklin said.So here's what mitigates our scorn: Conklin at least had the good sense to introduce his measure as a non-binding resolution, and he followed it up with a second resolution expressing condolences to the families of Pennsylvanians affected by the tragedy.But next time, Mr. Conklin (and God forbid there is), wait at least a week so you don't come off like an opportunist.Capitol Ideas Cynical Triangulation Award (Part II):We are not, however, going to be as forgiving to veteran state Rep. Tom Yewcic, D-Cambria.
The ink had barely dried on yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on late-term abortions, when Yewcic leaped into action, and announced he'll introduce legislation that would ban the procedure in Pennsylvania."This procedure is gruesome and inhumane, and it never should have been allowed in the first place," Yewcic said, following up his platitude with the revelation that he was immediately available to anyone who wanted to talk to him about his yet-to-be introduced legislation.Amazing, he didn't break a leg tripping over his desk to order his staff to write the press release.

EdWatch (TM):Gov. Ed stays out west for the second consecutive day. By the time you read this, he'll have already made an 8:15 a.m. stop at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, where he's plugging his "Pre-K Counts" education plan.At 10:30 a.m., he's in Erie to participate in an "education funding announcement" at Strong Vincent High School. And then at 2 p.m., Gov. Ed's off to Spring House, which we're pretty sure is located in one of those boxy counties along the top, where he'll make one of his beloved "major economic development" announcements.

In The Blogosphere:Keystone Politics says state gun laws are unlikely to change, apresVirginia Tech; GrassrootsPA on a woman from Hazleton who's filed a federal lawsuit because she was denied a marriage license (punchline: Her fiance is an illegal immigrant); Young Philly Politics shares an observation on gun violence; A Smoke-Filled Room has all the Philly political news you need; PhillyFuture has links to a bunch of different stuff; Tony Phyrillas on cleaning up at PHEAA; 2 Political Junkies have the transcript of Keith Olbermann's nomination yesterday for the Worst Person in the World; Above Average Jane (figuratively) runs down some judicial candidates; Perry Christopher on Simon Cowell's infamous eye-roll on American Idol the other night; Gort says there won't be any debates between Luzerne County's DA or judicial candidates (and that might actually be a true public service); A Big Fat Slob is none-too-psyched by yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion; Bernie O'Hare says some LV peace advocates have misfired; PSoTD on Dinesh D'Souza; Suburban Guerrilla and the Mystery of the Disappearing Bees (So long and thanks for all the flowers?); Dick Polman notes that dozens of innocent people are indiscriminately killed in Iraq every day, and that we're not nearly as upset over that; Pennsyltucky Politics goes off to have Breakfast with Hermetic Bob; The Swamp on how most Americans consider themselves environmentally conscious -- even if they drive SUVs and eat fast-food from Styrofoam containers; Donklephant on Youth, Interrupted; The Big Question on whether it's a good idea to have the government negotiate lower drug prices; Window on Washington on Fred Thompson's trip to the White House; Here's some of today's best political cartoons; Fishbowl DC engages in a little fashion criticism, and new 'blog: Monsterfest.

On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning:In the midst of all this post-punk revivalism, we thought it'd be a useful exercise to review the work of the band that really triggered it all. All the way from 2004: Here's Franz Ferdinand and "Take Me Out."

Thursday's Gratuitous Soccer Link.Via Football365 comes news that England star Michael Owencould return to the line-up for Newcastle this weekend as the Magpies face Chelsea on Sunday. Owen's been down with groin knack, and the team thinks there's a 50-50 chance he'll be fit to play.

Current Comments

So let me see if I have this right John … the minority leader, who’s in charge of the party who believes in LESS government, is complaining because the House hasn’t passed MORE legislation? Interesting hypocrisy in his comments …